Tag Archives: Art Exhibition

Cards of Dartmoor National Park

After graduating from Exeter College of Art in 1989, Ric Horner spent the first two years of his career living and working on Dartmoor in Devon, developing a unique and profound engagement with light, mood and distance. Consequently he produced two solo shows; one at Marloes gallery in London in 1989 and one at Exeter College in 1990.

Twenty-six years later, in 2016, Ric had the opportunity to put together yet another stunning exhibition on the subject, this time at Green Hill Arts in Moretonhampstead on Dartmoor National Park. Thanks to his longstanding friend, supporter and art collector,  historian and internationally acclaimed author Dr Ian Mortimer, Ric was able to showcase a selection of over 40 original oil on canvas paintings in the town’s dedicated art space.

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Dr Ian Mortimer said about this exhibition in his introduction:

“Ric Horner is one of the country’s leading landscape painters. I have no doubt that, in due course, he will be recognised as one of the most significant landscape artists of our time. Ric’s dedication is astounding; his integrity no less so. For me it has been a privilege and an honour to be so closely involved with this exhibition, and to have been able to buy a number of his paintings over the years.

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The “Dartmoor: Theatre of Light” exhibition was on show from 10th September to 29th October 2016 at Green Hill Arts in Moretonhampstead and was very well received.

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This year, in spring 2024, Ric has returned to the subject and has produced over 60 different greeting card designs taken from this solo exhibition, as well as other Devonshire and Cornish coastal areas. You will find all relevant images under Cards, or request one of his image catalogues.

He is currently selling them via various gift shops across the Moor, including places like Moretonhampstead Visitors’ Information Centre, Artisan Chagford and MAKE Southeast in Bovey Tracey.

With over 150,000 visitors a year traveling to Dartmoor National Park, there can be no question that Dartmoor and it’s landscape has attracted artists, as well as tourists for centuries and helped fire their imagination. From the thick mists that suddenly appear and roll across the moor to the dark, bottomless mires and the craggy granite tors, each lends an air of mystery and magic, all ripe for associated legends and tales.

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  http://visitmoretonhampstead.co.uk. 


www.ianmortimer.com

 Dr Mortimer says about Ric’s work:

In this exhibition, you will find yourself on a road at night having just seen the first welcoming streetlight of the village: you will soon be home and warm. The sun has gone down behind Laughter Tor leaving a few drifting clouds and vapour trails in the deep blue sky: the seemingly eternal rocky outcrop is juxtaposed with the ephemeral vestiges of the day. But the most striking feature of these Dartmoor paintings is the light. Often the painting is not actually about the hill, rock or any other object in the distance; it is about the space between you and that object. It is a portrait of the light, a place where skies brood, threaten, delight, obscure with mist, groan with rain or brighten with a ray of optimism.”

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“A stunning exhibition of the highest calibre!”

“Poetic, beautiful, bold and absolutely marvellous!”

They are  sublime. So magical and true to the atmosphere”

“Ric Horner’s work is superb – truly spectacular!”

“Breathtaking views and big skies! Fabulous.”

Wow! “I absolutely love your work; such stunning paintings. The most amazing sky and little houses shining like jewels.  What an uplifting exhibition!”

We recently saw your Theatre of Light exhibition in Moretonhampstead and were both really moved by it. I just wanted to let you know how delighted I am to have been able to purchase one of your pictures. I bought your picture of Scorhill (image below). It’s always been a favourite place of mine on the Moor and your picture captures it so vividly.

 

Ric in his studio in summer 2016 preparing for the show.

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Below: Friends Ian Mortimer and Ric Horner on field trip to ‘The Strangles’ in September 2014, where the idea of the ‘Theatre of Light ‘ exhibition was first perceived.

Ric is available for commissions. Please contact him at: enquiries@richorner.com, if you fancy your own favourite views painted.

He is currently ( March 2024) working on large panorama focusing on the pebble bed heaths around Joney’s Cross, a high point halfway between Exeter and Sidmouth looking towards the coast in East Devon.

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Artists Open Houses 2023

Ric works in a modern classical way and creates atmospheric, light-filled land and seascapes. The sublime light of his paintings is characteristic of a style called Luminism. He takes part every year in the East Kent Artist’s Open Houses (https://ekoh.org.uk/whitstable). If you’ve missed this event last October, get in touch to arrange a studio visit.

Canterbury Cathedral prints

He and his partner were in house 13 on the Whitstable trail. For directions go to:  https://ekoh.org.uk/…/65-joy-lane-sherrins-alley…/ There were are a lot of Kentish landscapes, large Whitstable beach scenes and stunning views of Canterbury Cathedral on show, which were all very well received.

However, he still has wonderful new range of smaller oil paintings, as well as high-quality greeting cards and prints available. They can be picked up directly from his studio on West Beach.

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Show Off gallery Whitstable

Ric has exhibited his extraordinarily atmospheric British land & seascapes last August in Harbour Street, Whitstable. For interest in any of the remaining pieces visit the page Available Paintings, or contact him at tel. 07835294317/ enquiries@richorner.com.

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Pompeii: An exhibition by Ric Horner

In the same year as the British Museum put on a blockbuster exhibition called ‘Life and death in Pompeii and Herculaneum’, 2013 (www.britishmuseum.org/pompeii-live) Ric also created a solo show on the subject of the ancient Roman city Pompeii, hoping to transport people back to AD 79 to discover how life was transformed in just 24 hours, when the two cities in the Bay of Naples, southern Italy, were buried by a catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

Hoping to recreate how it looks now, and how it may well have looked during and after the famous eruption of Mount Vesuvius he said:

“Pompeii is paradoxical, the city was once the site of a tremendous environmental catastrophe, but now all is serene and in a state of artful decay. Ironically, its preservation was due to its destruction -had it not been buried by the layers of ash, it would not be here today. In this particular series I tried to convey these unique qualities. When creating the work, I found that I had tapped into a similar colour palette to the one artists used when painting frescos in and around the city before the eruption. This may not have been a coincidence and may be linked to the strong Italian sunlight and its location near the Bay of Naples.”

Ric Horner's Pompeii Art Exhibition
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Another exhibition of Pompeii that is currently running is at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. This show is on until September 2023. (msichicago.org/pompeii)

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